The coroner is an elected public official. In Montana, the coroner
can be a separate office, or it can be combined with the position of
sheriff, as it is in Missoula County. The coroner can appoint deputy
county coroners.

The coroner must determine the cause and manner of death. Manner of
death is listed as accident, homicide, suicide, natural, undetermined,
or pending (waiting for autopsy results). Cause of death is a
medical-legal determination, such as cancer, heart attack, or blunt
force trauma to the head.

The coroner must attend a 40-hour class on death investigation, then
attend 16 hours of training every two years. The coroner can get
assistance from the State Medical Examiner.

The coroner inquires into any death that was caused by other than
natural causes (accident, homicide), or when no licensed physician will
sign the death certificate. The death certificates are filed at the
local registrar's office.

The Missoula County
Detention Facility opened November 1, 1999, replacing the old county
jail, which had been out-dated and over-crowded for many years. MCDF
holds county prisoners who are awaiting trial or who are serving
sentences of less than one year. The secure juvenile detention unit is
in a separate wing of the same building. MCDF phone number:
(406) 258-4000.

The patrol division is called the heart of the department. It is
certainly the most visible, with deputies on patrol in marked vehicles.
The patrol division has four teams, each headed by a sergeant, which
work 12 hours shifts. Allowing for vacations, training, and sick leave,
the shifts average 3 to 4 deputies per shift. Because of the size of the
jurisdiction, resident deputies are stationed in Seeley Lake and Condon.

The patrol deputies respond to calls as dispatched by 9-1-1,
assisting citizens and investigating everything from dog bites to
homicides. The patrol deputies conduct interviews, photograph and
fingerprint crime scenes as appropriate, and document investigations
with reports. The patrol division enforces traffic violations, serves
arrest warrants, and serves legal papers such as summonses and
subpoenas, orders of protection, and jury summonses.

The patrol division is headed by a captain, with a lieutenant who is
the assistant administrator, and a lieutenant who serves as the
department training officer. Attached to patrol are two deputies who are
assigned to serve civil process, and another who is the EOD, Search and
Rescue, Ranch, and Forest Service Patrol coordinator.

The Detective Division is divided into Property Crimes (vandalism,
theft, and burglary), Persons Crimes (assaults, rapes, homicide),
Warrants, and Narcotics. The detectives develop their own cases, and
also follow up on investigations initiated by the patrol division, if
needed. They forward completed reports to the County Attorney's office
for prosecution. The detectives may handle request for assistance from
people who come to the office during business hours.

One detective and an evidence clerk are responsible for evidence
storage and developing crime scene photographs. They handle the tracking
and storage of evidence from crime scenes and make that evidence
available for court.

The detective division checks records from pawn shops and tries to
match found or recovered property with lost or stolen property.

The warrants officer prepares information for arrest warrants, and
arranges extradition transportation of officers and prisoners. The
Detective Division is headed by a captain, with a lieutenant, sergeant,
and detective specialists. Detective and Patrol Divisions have equal
rank structures. A move to detectives is not necessarily a promotion.

Staff in the civil process office handles processing of legal papers that are
given to deputies to serve. These papers include subpoenas for court;
orders of protection; papers relating to dissolution, parenting plans
and child support; civil
suits; and evictions. The civil office also handles the removal of abandoned cars and
sheriff's sales of those cars and other seized property.

Please specify "Civil Process Bureau" when addressing mail to us, to
avoid unnecessary delays in delivery. ATTENTION, users of
UPS and FEDEX: These parcels must now be addressed to us
at 199 W. Pine, Missoula MT 59802, the new address of Central Services.
They will no longer be delivered to us if addressed to 200 W. Broadway,
Missoula MT 59802. The following forms are also available on our
Forms page.

The sheriff's department has an Administrative Captain who works on
finding, applying for, and administering grants. He works on the budget,
coordinates internal promotions, and manages the fleet of vehicles.

The Sheriff's Department has a support staff of civilian workers who
are responsible for keeping the criminal justice records created by
investigations and arrests. The staff transcribes taped interviews,
enters wanted persons into the NCIC system, and makes copies of
documents for other agencies. Personnel handle the Uniform Crime
Reports, statistics, and departmental mail.

A staff member greets and screens visitors, and handles incoming
phone calls. Another does payroll and budget.

At critical incidents, such as Special Response Team call-outs, a
staff person responds to provide immediate record-keeping functions.

The Special Response Team's purpose is to handle "high risk"
situations which the individual deputy is not trained or equipped to
handle. These situations include barricaded subjects, hostage rescue,
high risk fugitive arrests or search warrants, protective services,
crowd control, institutional riots, and special event management.
Members of this unit are trained and work as a team. SRT provides
24-hour coverage by means of a pager call-out to provide immediate
response upon request.

SRT has four components. The first is the most well-known, the
Tactical team. Officers are trained as entry, arrest, sniper/observer
teams. They work with handguns, long guns, less lethal, and chemical
weapons.

The Negotiations team is trained to deal with hostage-takers,
barricaded suspects, and suicidal persons.

The Tactical Emergency Medical Services involves EMT and paramedics
who receive some tactical training, and who provide treatment for
injured victims, officers, and suspects.

The Support team provides clerical assistance with record-keeping,
monitoring radio traffic, and providing support to the other three parts
of the team.

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Sheriff's Cadets

Cadets are high school aged students who are interested in Law Enforcement, either as a future career, or as an after school activity.
Cadets receive law enforcement training in general, and learn specifics
about the Missoula County Sheriff's Department.